''Re Judiciary and Navigation Acts'' (1921) 29 CLR 257 is a

landmark A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances. In modern-day use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures ...

judgment of the

High Court of Australia The High Court of Australia is the apex court of the Australian legal system. It exercises original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified in the Constitution of Australia and supplementary legislation. The High Court was establi ...

. The

matter In classical physics and general chemistry, matter is any substance that has mass and takes up space by having volume. All everyday objects that can be touched are ultimately composed of atoms, which are made up of interacting subatomic pa ...

related to what is a legal matter and the High Court's ability to issue

opinion An opinion is a judgement, viewpoint, or statement that is not conclusive, as opposed to facts, which are true statements. Definition A given opinion may deal with subjective matters in which there is no conclusive finding, or it may deal ...

outside a case.

Background

The

Attorney-General of Victoria The Attorney-General of Victoria, in formal contexts also Attorney-General or Attorney General for Victoria,See, e.g., ''Bullivant v Attorney-General for Victoria''

900 __NOTOC__ Year 900 ( CM) was a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Abbasid Caliphate * Spring – Forces under the Transoxianian emir Isma'il ibn Ahmad are victorious at Balkh (Northern Afghan ...

AC 196; ''Ryan v Attorney General for Victoria''

967 Year 967 ( CMLXVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Spring – Emperor Otto I (the Great) calls for a council at Rome, to present the new government under Pope John XIII. He ...

VR 514 is a Mini ...

, raised an objection that section 88 of the

Judiciary Act 1903 The ''Judiciary Act 1903'' (Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia that regulates the structure of the Australian judicial system and confers jurisdiction on Australian federal courts. It is one of the oldest pieces of Australian feder ...

was beyond the powers of the

Commonwealth Parliament The Parliament of Australia (officially the Parliament of the Commonwealth and also known as the Federal Parliament) is the federal legislature of Australia. It consists of three elements: the Monarchy of Australia, monarch of Australia (repr ...

Finding

The court found that the High Court could not issue

legal opinion In law, a legal opinion is in certain jurisdictions a written explanation by a judge or group of judges that accompanies an order or ruling in a case, laying out the rationale and legal principles for the ruling. Opinions are in those jurisdi ...

s unattached to a specific case. The joint majority judgment stated: On the issue of what constituted a matter they said:Leslie Zines, ''Cowen and Zines's Federal Jurisdiction in Australia'' p. 16. {{blockquote, text=In our opinion there can be no matter within the meaning of s 76 of the Constitution unless there is some immediate right, duty or liability to be established by the determination of the Court.

References

High Court of Australia cases 1921 in case law 1921 in Australian law

Background

Finding

See also

References